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Eating cardboard:/

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Eating cardboard:/

Postby sgtpepper » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:38 am

I have recently stopped making toys for Dino and Zaura as they (especially Zaura) have started eating cardboard/paper! Now all the toys are carrots, tomatoes, and a half a kale that hangs there for destruction.

It's quite annoying, as I used to make them these huuge cardboard toys, or wrap half a nut in two pieces of clean paper and they loved them!

If I give them the paper-nut foraging toy, Zaura would eat a bit of paper first, then eat the nut and throw the paper, and then go down and get the paper to eat some more

HEELP!
sgtpepper
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby Wolf » Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:08 am

Perhaps you could try making a few toys using balsa wood and see what happens, untreated fir would be a good choice as well. What about pine cones as an alternative toy?
Wraps? I know that palm fronds work well, but with your location they might be hard to come by, what about corn husks? When your grocer gets a shipment of ear corn there will be a lot of husks left in the box that they come in and maybe they would give them to you for free.
Wolf
Macaw
 
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Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby sgtpepper » Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:31 am

Wooden toys have also been off, commercial/home made ones. Even though fir for example is not toxic, I'm afraid of them swallowing bigger pieces as I've seen Zaura regurgitate a few times and that was the moment when i stopped.
corn husks are a good idea but there is no fresh corn during this season
Last edited by sgtpepper on Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
sgtpepper
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 63
Location: Denmark
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African grey
Flight: Yes

Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby sgtpepper » Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:33 am

shelled nuts and almonds are also off
soooooooooooooooooooooo..
sgtpepper
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 63
Location: Denmark
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African grey
Flight: Yes

Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby Pajarita » Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:52 am

I don't think she is eating the cardboard, Sarge, I think she is shredding it. They do love to shred paper and cardboard when they are hormonal...
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Flight: Yes

Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby sgtpepper » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:12 pm

Nope, they are eating it! before , yes, they shredded it.
now they hold a piece and keep eating tiny bits like it's the best thing in the world.

When he was nervous Dino used to chew cardboard, but it is incomparable.

I doubt that they are in "breeding mode" as their light schedule and diet are proper.

I'm thinking it might have a connection to the total cut of sunflower seeds;after that they barely ate the rest of the parakeet mix! and it was then that i realized that they used to live on the 5-6 sunflower seeds that was in the dinner mix !

And now I've changed their diet again:

gloop(grains about40%;; vegetables 60%)
i sprout the parakeet mix i used to give them for dinner and give that alongside the gloop-as much as they want
TOPS pellets(after the sunflower seed incident i gave in and ordered a small bag to see how it goes-for them to "snap" something, as they are not very fond of largely chopped vegetables)
small pieces of fruit &nuts once in a while as treats

Now, with these nuts I'm again, incredibly annoyed!
Whenever we give them the nuts as a treat/put whole nuts in their meals, they refuse to eat something else!
If we give them as a treat, then they don't even look at the food bowls and scream for some more
If we put them in the food bowls then they don't eat any of the food besides the nuts and scream for some more

Now I've powdered some nuts and put a teaspoon in their morning gloop

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
sgtpepper
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 63
Location: Denmark
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African grey
Flight: Yes

Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby liz » Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:23 pm

Rambo squeals with excitement when I give him a new cardboard box. He has never done that with a toy. He tares them into nickel size pieces and can play quietly for hours in a box.
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liz
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Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
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Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby Wolf » Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:17 am

Have you added white beans and lentils to the gloop? Mine is currently a half and half mix of cooked whole grains and vegetables to which I add about 20% more by volume of white beans and lentils fully cooked , of course.
Wolf
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Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby sgtpepper » Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:36 am

Yes Wolf, forgot to mention that:)

And Liz, that was what they did before and it was so much easier.All it took was a cardboard box or toy/a basket and it kept them busy for half a day.
sgtpepper
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 63
Location: Denmark
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Congo African grey
Flight: Yes

Re: Eating cardboard:/

Postby Wolf » Tue Mar 31, 2015 7:26 am

Have you been giving them an avian calcium supplement? If you have been adjusting their lighting to follow the seasons then they should be right at the height of breeding season right now, I know that my Grey is and I have had to adjust her calcium up a little as well as providing her with a little more protein in the form of an extra nut or two daily so as to not have her deplete her body of these while in breeding condition.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

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